


Dead of Night

by AVeryTiredGuy



Category: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Depression, Gay, LGBTQ Character, M/M, Romance, Slow Build, Stardew Valley - Freeform, Suicidal Thoughts, mlm
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-09
Updated: 2020-04-10
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:07:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,970
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23562793
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AVeryTiredGuy/pseuds/AVeryTiredGuy
Summary: After inheriting his grandfathers farm, Holden Winslow tries to adapt to his new farming life. It is here he meets Shane, a nihilistic, introverted man, living with his aunt in Pelican Town. At first holden doesn't think much of Shane, but as he gets to know him, Holden finds out his troubled secrets, and just can't seem to stay away from the mysterious man.
Relationships: Jas & Marnie & Shane (Stardew Valley), Shane/Male Player (Stardew Valley)
Kudos: 11





	1. Ridgewell Farm

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, sorry this is a short chapter, I'll try to make them longer in future.

The bus crawled up the old battered road, rattling along. It had been years since Holden had been anywhere near this area, the last time would have been when he was a child. Now at the ripe old age of 23, he was back. The windows on the bus were partly covered in a layer of dirt, making the desolate land outside discoloured and blurred. Still, he started blankly out of it. It had been a number of years since his grandfather had passed, in all honesty he had lost count of how long it had been. With life weighing him down, trying to make ends meet, in a repetitive nine to five office job, it was very easy for Holden to lose track of time. That is one of the things that had encouraged him to move. Even if farming life was constant hard work and laborious, at least it was better than what he had. 

Held in his hand was a small piece of paper, directions he had written down. He may have been here before in his childhood but, by no means did that mean he remembered how to get to Ridgewell Farm. The farm itself was essentially in the middle of nowhere. Fortunately though, there was a small town east from it, Pelican Town. From what Holden remembered, it wasn't big, just a few essential shops, a pub, a library and a few houses scattered about. Nevertheless, it seemed nice enough. Fortunetly, his grandfather had given detailed directions on how to get to Rigewell Farm, in a letter he had wrote to Holden, just before his passing. 

Holden was snapped out of his daydream when the bus came to a slow halt. This was his stop, or at least from what the directions said it was. There was figure standing by the stop, but he couldn't make them out through the mercy glass. Quickly, picking up his bags and stuffing the piece of paper in to his pocket, he stepped off the bus. Outside, there were trees all around him and lush green grass with flowers just beginning to bloom. 

"Are you Holden?", a soft voice asked. It was a lady with red hair, stood beside the stop sign.

"uh, yeah i am", Holden was never that good at talking to strangers without preparation. 

"I am Robin. The mayor, Lewis asked me to come and get you and show you to your house." There was a bit of a pause before she then added, "if you just follow me, I'll take you there now."

Together they walked along a path, in a slight awkward silence. _W_ _hy am i so bad at talking to people?_ Holden thought to himself. Once he got to know someone better he definitely felt more confident talking to them, its just meeting new people he struggled with. His thoughts were then suddenly interrupted.

"Oh, i forgot to ask, would you like any help with you bags?" 

He was carrying two bags, one rucksack and one duffle bag. Neither were really that heavy, he didn't really own a lot of things, or a lot of important things at least. Inside his bags were mostly just clothes and other essentials. 

"It's okay, don't worry about it.Thanks for the offer though", it was nice that she had offered at least.

"Okay, its not that far to go anyway now. Sorry i probably should have offered sooner. I'm good at lifting heavy stuff though, I'm actually the carpenter in town. So if there is anything you need building, I'm your woman", she then smiled at him. At least one person here was nice, hopefully the rest would be too. 

At the end of the path there was a small wooden cabin. It looked nice enough from a distance. As the pair approached further though, Holden noticed that the area around it was covered in dense weeds, with rocks and weeds scattered all over the place.

"Dont worry" Robin said, "it's nothing that cannot be fixed, I'm sure it'll take no time to fix up."

It was then, an older man emerged from the cabin. He wore a tweed hat, with brown suspenders. A wiry moustache poking out from under his nose. He looked friendly enough, with soft facial features, like a jolly old man usually depicted in films and tv shows. 

"Ahh, you must be Holden!", he exclaimed. "I am Lewis, the mayor of Pelican Town. And here? Well! Here is your new home. It pretty rustic if i do say so myself." He chuckled.

"Thats certainly one way of putting it", Robin giggled. 

Holden looked up at the wooden cabin, from the base of two small steps. It did look nice enough, just a bit on the old fashioned side. He could certainly picture his grandfather sitting on the porch in the evening, smoking a cigar. 

"Well, I'll let you have a look around it. If you want to do any gardening as such, your grandfathers tools are just over there", Lewis gestured to the side of the cabin. "I'll let you get settled in now son, I bet you're tired after travelling all this way. Here are your keys" he handed him two keys, one slightly bigger than the other, held together on a ring.

"Thank you" Holden said, not really knowing what to say. He really didn't like having to interact with so many strangers, one of the downsides of moving house. "I am looking forward to living here" he then added as an attempt to not sound too awkward. 

Lewis then stepped a side letting him into his new home. "Well, we'll see you later" Lewis said waving at him, "I hope you settle in fine."

They then said their goodbyes, and Holden could finally look around his new house. There was a bed to the right of him, it didn't look like the comfiest bed in the world, but it would do. Then in the top right hand corner there was a small brick fireplace, it clearly hadn't been used in years. Then there was a table and chair parallel to the bed. It all seemed pretty basic, but he had to remember that his grandfather was old and of another generation, so therefore probably didn't have a very modern way of life. It would do though.

He decided that tomorrow he would have a wander about town. Even though meeting new people was something Holden detested, it was something that he had to do, and he'd rather get it over and done with as soon as possible. The towns people were probably all very friendly, from the ones he had met he got that impression anyway. So at least he had that for reassurance. One thing he was glad about though was getting away from city life. Despite being raised there, he hated it. Too many people, too much noise. Holden was always one for keeping his head down and trying to blend in. Unfortunately, that didn't always work for him. In school he was often picked on. He was long out of school now however, he tried not to think about it that much in general. Back in high school though, he was outed as gay. He was never seriously bullied, just teased and called names by some of the other boys. It still upset him at the time though. However the past is the past, and he didn't let it bother him anymore. As long as he accepted himself for himself then thats all that mattered. At least on the farm he could be himself, he could happily live his life without judgement from others, that was one thing he looked forward to. 

Holden glanced at the time, it was getting late. He decided to head to bed, so at least he'd have some energy to meet the rest of the town tomorrow. 


	2. Pelican Town

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if there are any typos, I was very tired when i wrote this

Holden awoke to the sound of rain gently hitting the window. Of course on his first proper day on Ridgewell Farm it had to be raining. Mornings were never really his thing, but yet he still tried to wake up early most days, just to keep some sort of routine in his life. Slowly dragging himself out of bed, Holden sat on his mattress trying to recuperate his thoughts and wake himself up. Even though the cabin was old, it was surprisingly pretty held together, there was no leaking from what he could see anyway. He then stood up and slowly shuffled over to the fire place. Once the fire was lit he stood looking at it in a half asleep daze. Even if meeting the townspeople went badly, at least he had a warm cabin to come back to at the end of it.

By the time he was properly awake, and felt functional, it was half eight.Slowly opening his door, he could see the rain bouncing off the patio. It was not going to be a pleasant walk to town. As he trudged alone the path he could help but think what everyone would be like. Are all of them nice? Do they like new comers? What if they don't like city folk? All these worries were flooding his mind. He stopped and looked at a old wooden sign with raindrops running down it, "Pelican Town this way" it read. Soon he approached a small cobbled road which clearly lead to the town square. 

At first he didn't really see anyone, maybe it was too early, or maybe because it was raining. There were two shops not that far from him, he vaguely remembered them from when he was a child. One looked like a chemists and the other a grocery shop, a small bulletin board separating the two. The door of the grocers squeaked open as he entered, it appeared to be a cozy little shop. It wasn't very big, but he could tell that the owners cared about it. At the far end there was a man sat at the till, he was at reading a news paper through his glasses. a few strands of hair falling in front of his face. Soon however, he looked up and looked back at Holden. 

"Oh hello there!" he said, "how can i help you today young man?" 

"uh" Holden hesitated, "I'm actually new in town, i thought i should introduce myself. I'm Holden" 

"Ah yes, you're the young fellow who lives over at Ridgewell Farm now aren't you? A lovely place that farm is, shame how over grown it has become."

He wondered how many other people knew he was moving in to the farm? News does travel fast in small towns, he thought. "Yeah, thats me" 

"Well, I'm Pierre. My family and I own this shop. We sell all kinds of seeds too, if you're thinking of growing anything."

Classic marketing, Holden thought. "Oh thank you, I'll be sure to bear that in mind"

Pierre then leaned in closer to him, "If this just stays between you and me, I don't recommend buying from the JojaMart. Personally i don't trust big corporations like them."

That made sense, Holden always preferred to support smaller businesses anyway. Thats another reason why he didn't enjoy city life, it was flooded with big name businesses, most of which didn't seem very trust worthy anyway. 

Once the conversation ended he decided to go for a walk, the rain was beginning to clear up a bit. On his walk he stopped an elderly couple, the man was in a wheelchair, his face was frowning. The woman however, looked very peaceful. A young man, probably a few years younger than Holden, came running up to them both. He looked very athletic, his hair was also very styled, Holden could tell he put a lot of effort into his hair. Now probably wasn't a good time to go and introduce himself, so he continued walking. 

Following a small path, eventually he came to the woods. It was nice, it struck him as a very tranquil place. Birds singing in the tree, sitting upon the damp branches. As he continued walking he noticed someone in the distance. A girl, from what he could make out. She had long purple hair and wore a turquoise jacket. She turned around and saw him. 

"Oh sorry i didn't mean to bother you", Holden shouted, if someone is sitting alone in the woods is probably because they want to be alone.

"No worries", the girl replied as she walked towards him. "you must be new here?" 

"Yeah, I just got here yesterday. Im Holden, I've moved into Ridgewell Farm."

"Ah I see, I think my dad mentioned that someone was moving in there not too long ago. I'd be careful in these woods thought, they're easy to get lost in. I've lived here 18 years and hell I still get lost in the sometimes" she chuckled, "just be sure to stick to the path".

"I will do, don't worry", she seemed to have a very chilled atmosphere about her. 

After their conversation Holden continued walking, sticking to the path. It was then he came across a small tent with the ashes of a fire outside of it. No one was around however, or at least thats what it seemed. It was then he decided to turn around and head back to town, he didn't want to accidentally trespass. The trees towered over holden, the blue sky poking through the tree tops. Pelican Town really had lovely scenery. Holden always enjoyed the woods, unfortunately he didn't get to see them much, living in the city and all. It was a nice treat every now and again though, he always had fond memories going on walks. 

He was so caught up in his own thoughts, he hardly noticed he was almost back in Pelican Town. He didn't see that girl on the way back, which was a shame because she seemed nice. Walking back into Pelican Town there were more people now that the sun had come out. There were some young children playing by the river that ran through the town. 

"Would you mind passing me that watering can" a voice croaked from behind him. Turning around, he saw it was the old lady from earlier. 

"Oh, yeah, sure", the said reaching over to get it. 

"Thank you love, say, I don't think I've seen you around here before? Though my memory is not as good as it once was."

"Dont worry, I'm new here, I arrived yesterday. I'm the new farmer."

"Ahh, yes, I heard someone was moving into Ridegwell Farm. You do look quite young though, but maybe I'm just getting old."

"I am 23" Holden said with a smile.

"Oh to be 23 again", she said looking off into the distance. "I am Evelyn by the way, sorry i should have introduced myself first. My memory isn't what it use to be."

"Thats no problem" Holden chuckled, "I'm Holden."

"Well Holden, there isn't really much of a scene for the young folk here unfortunately." She paused, "but there is always The Stardrop Saloon. It's not much, but it's something you might enjoy."

Might as well check it out, Holden thought. He could exactly spend the rest of his life tucked away on his farm hiding from the world. "Thank you, I will."

"Well, I'll let you get on now. Thank you for passing me my watering can." Evelyn said before turning back to her flowers. 

After some searching, Holden found The Stardrop Saloon, it didn't really look like much, just like how Evelyn described, but alas it was something to do. Pushing open the door slowly, he could hear jolly music playing. A rather plump man with a combover and moustache was at the counter. There were after other people there too, the loud chatting almost drowned out the music. Robin was dancing with a man, presumably her husband. They looked very happy together at least. After ordering a drink and some spaghetti, Holden began to tuck into his dinner. Food was something that had escaped his mind today, he was too preoccupied getting his bearings. What he had learned though is that the guys name was Gus, he owned The Stardrop saloon. He was too tired to talk to him though, so that was all he managed to find out. 

Sitting at the table by himself, Holden noticed a guy stood by the fire place. The man looked deep in thought, he hadn't noticed him when he game in. The guy wore a blue hoodie, a beer held tightly in his hand. For some reason Holden could not stop staring at him, he had a troubled look on his face. Luckily the man did not see him staring at him, no one really did. everyone was preoccupied with their conversations. What was bothering that guy so much, he couldn't help but think. Obviously it was none of his business, hell he had only just seen the guy, but it didn't exactly take a detective to know that something was bothering the guy. 

Holden often tried not to stare at guys in public, whether they were good looking or not. He just didn't want people figuring out he was gay. It is nothing to be ashamed off obviously, it was just very personal to him, and he didn't want anyone to confront him about it. All he wanted to do was to blend in with everyone else, and staring at people was definitely a way to draw attention to himself. He did contemplate going over and asking the guy if he was okay, but he decided not to. People can be weird about talking to strangers about things, especially personal things. All holden hoped was that the guy was okay. 


End file.
